RELATIVES of a patient who died moments after a visit by Harold Shipman were told by the killer GP 'well, I don't believe in keeping them going'.

The family of Mary Coutts were shocked by the doctor's words after the mother-of-two was found dead by a neighbour.

Mrs Coutts, aged 80, had been diagnosed with leukaemia in 1992. On the day of her death, in April 1997, Mrs Coutts requested a home visit by Shipman because she had a bad cold.

Her son Philip Clarke and his wife Mary arranged to be at her Marler Road, Hyde home for the visit, but when Mary took ill after a dentist appointment, Mrs Coutts said she'd be fine and would call later.

But the call they received was from Mrs Coutts' neighbour Gladys Atherton. She told them to get round to Mrs Coutts' as she was poorly - she wanted to tell them face-to-face that she had died.

Mrs Clarke was disturbed by Shipman's comments. "He folded his arms and said 'well, I don't believe in keeping them going'," she said.

Gladys Atherton recalled seeing Shipman at Mrs Coutts' flat minutes before she was found dead. But she said she'd seen Mrs Coutts walking about her flat as the doctor was driving away.

Shipman gave the cause of death as broncho-pneumonia. In his audit of Shipman's practice, Prof Richard Baker said the possibility Shipman 'gave nature a helping hand cannot be discounted'.

The Shipman Inquiry is headed by chairman, Dame Janet Smith. For full, daily transcriptions of the inquiry log on to www.the-shipman-inquiry.org.uk